Sacrifice
by Meloidia
Summary: They search for him, and when they come upon him by chance, the outcome is not what they expected. Alas, the great irony of life.
1. Chapter 1

SACRIFICE

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction now would I? :)

"Sakura-chan! Hurry up!" Naruto bellowed while repeatedly knocking on Sakura's door.

"SHUT UP! We still have ten minutes before we have to be there." Sakura replied with an irritated tone.

The Jinchurriki and the Blossom were called for an impromptu meeting with Tsunade.

Sakura walked out of her home, "Let's go, Tsunade's waiting for us."

They walked toward the Hokage Tower, lost in their thoughts about the impromptu meeting.

"Hey, Sakura-chan, what do you think Tsunade baa-chan wants?" Naruto asked. They nodded at the two Anbu stationed in front of the door. Naruto walked into the room.

"Naruto Uzumaki! Do you have ANY manners? When will you learn to knock?" The Hokage yelled. "Sakura! Perfect timing, hurry in and close the door." Sakura did as told.

_What is so important to call an impromptu meeting?_ Sakura wondered as she walked toward where Naruto was standing, his foot tapping with impatience.

"Now," Tsunade said flipping through her folders. "As you know, the Chunnin exams are coming up and this time it's held in Suna. I decided to make you two the Konoha ambassadors. I expect you two to be ready at the gate in an hour. Sakura, you will also act as a medic in case the doofus can't keep himself out of trouble." Tsunade glared at Naruto.

"HEY! THAT'S MEAN TSUNADE BAA-CHAN!" Naruto whined, pouting at the the Godaime.

"Now get out of here!" Tsunade hollered at the two Jonins as she reached for the sake she desperately needed.

Sakura's eye twitched when she heard the loud voice of the Kyuubi vessel.

"You're late." Sakura glared at Naruto.

"I'm sorry! I had to finish all my ramen, what if Suna doesn't have a ramen shop?" Naruto replied with a sad look on his face.

"You idiot! We went to the Ichiraku at Suna last month!" Sakura growled. "Let's go now."

They walked past the village gates and headed toward the Hidden Sand village.


	2. Chapter 2

Sacrifice

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Chapter Two

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A.N. My pen name used to be InsignificantMemories, but I didn't want my reviewers to think I was a cold-hearted person, so I changed it to Meloidia, which is Greek for Melody… Sorry for not updating in a really long time, but I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Suna was a beautiful village, the sand seemed to hover above the ground and the flowers were in full bloom. It was a bittersweet picture.

"Sakura-chan! Let's go eat ramen, I'm hungry!" Naruto yelled before running towards the ramen shop.

"BAKA! Let's go tell the Kazekage that we have arrived." Sakura replied with an irritated tone before walking towards the Kazekage Tower.

They reached the door leading to the young leader's office. Naruto knocked once before barging in.

"NARUTO! Use some manners, you idiot!" Sakura growled before hitting Naruto in the head.

"Naruto, Sakura." The Kazekage said, greeting the two nin.

"Gaara, how have you been?" Naruto asked. Sakura bowed in response.

"Fine. The Chuunin exams are coming up. It starts in two days. Tomorrow, you will be watching over the genins as they train with their teams for the exam. You may train with them if you want to, but get their consent beforehand," Gaara replied, looking at Naruto. "In two days, you two will be overlooking the written exam portion of the three part Chuunin exams. Report back to me tomorrow evening, I have papers I need to give you before the written exam takes place. Now, there is a hotel you may stay at. It is near the entrance of the village. Get some rest; the genins are energetic this year."

"Thank you, Kazekage-Sama." Sakura replied before walking out the door. Naruto bowed and quickly caught up to the Blossom.

"Sakura-chan! Let's go eat ramen now! I'm starving!" Naruto whined.

"I'm going to the hotel. You can go by yourself; I'll pay for the two rooms." Sakura replied before heading towards the hotel.

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Sakura and Naruto walked into the Kazekage's office the next evening and bowed before him.

"Hello," Gaara stated as the two nin sat down. They greeted him in return and Gaara quickly got started handing out the paperwork Sakura and Naruto had to fill out. Half an hour later, they were back in Sakura's hotel room and Naruto was complaining about the strenuous work.

"BAKA!" Sakura screamed before punching Naruto in the face. Naruto glared at her before returning to the paperwork.

"Hey. Sakura-chan. Let's go get-"

"No."

"But why?"

"You're such an idiot!" Sakura deliberately turned around to face the wall. She wanted to collapse on the bed, the paperwork was making her drowsy.

"Sakura-chan? SAKURA-CHAN! ARE YOU OKAY?" Naruto bellowed at the top of his lungs.

"Yes, be quiet, you're giving me a headache." Sakura sighed before collapsing on the soft bed.

She felt Naruto pull the covers over her before she dozed off into a dreamless sleep.

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The two months Sakura spent in Suna seemed to fly by, before she knew it, she was packing her belongings and heading for the village gates.

"Goodbye Kazekage-sama, I hope to see you soon!" Sakura said, bowing before the young Kazekage.

"Bye Gaara, take care!" Naruto bellowed. Sakura frowned as he said this.

Gaara bid them farewell and watched them leave the village quietly, while the sun was just breaking into the sky and the world was waking up.

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Sakura heard the briefest sound of a leaf crunching and looked sideways towards the source of the noise.

"Naruto, I think someone is following us." Sakura muttered to her friend.

Naruto nodded before turning towards the source of the noise. He threw a kunai in the direction and heard the clanking sound of a kunai striking back. A shuriken flew out of the foliage and barely skimmed Sakura's cheek. She reached for her kunai before realizing that the person that was following them had stepped out into the opening.

Naruto was shocked and stood with his mouth agape staring at the figure before them.

"Sa-Sasuke?" Sakura gasped.

A.N. Was this a good enough cliffhanger? Hmm… I'm contemplating the fourth chapter. I hope to have it posted within a week. :D


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